BY DEBRA WOOD

As businesses increasingly turn to mobile solutions to improve productivity, they often find off-the-shelf software lacks some of the functions needed. The FileMaker Platform allows people to easily create customized applications tailored to meet their specific requirements.

"It has helped our business tremendously," says Matthew Byrtus, information technology director at Consolidated Engineering Laboratories (CEL), a provider of engineering and materials testing services in San Ramon, Calif., and a member of AGC of California.

"Without FileMaker, we would not have been able to tackle the projects we have with the iPad," Byrtus adds. "It has added layers and layers of mobility power to our organization."

An Apple subsidiary, FileMaker of Santa Clara, Calif., recently released FileMaker 13, with enhancements and WebDirect, allowing users to develop customized solutions to share, without any software development experience, says Eric Jacobson, group product manager for client technology with FileMaker. FileMaker works on Macs and PCs and is designed to support native iOS devices, such as an iPad.

CEL has built several applications in FileMaker, starting with one for drivers to map a route and more efficiently pick up concrete cylinders for testing. After that success, CEL developed a program that would allow soil samples to be logged, tested and billed within the FileMaker application, which then would feed the information to the company’s enterprise accounting system for billing.

"It closed revenue leakage in our soil laboratory, by making it more efficient and increasing productivity," Byrtus says.

CEL also developed with FileMaker an off-line syncing tool for inspectors to access soil sample results.

"That application eliminated communication delays between the field and the lab," Byrtus says.

Most recently, CEL created a FileMaker application that allows inspectors to download all of dispatches with form templates. Once they complete the form, the reports department can combine that information into a single report that the customer can access. The application gives the company the ability to produce the report documents within 24 hours, rather than the former standard of two weeks.

FileMaker automatically knows sizes of different devices and adjusts the layout accordingly. The most recent version includes users to select from one of seven new keyboards to match the type of data being collected, such as a numeric keypad, and will scan bar codes with no additional plug-ins needed.

FileMaker comes complete with background themes and style sheets, so headers will match from screen to screen. Users can drag and drop elements into their application.

"We’ve been very happy with the customization options available in FileMaker," Byrtus says.

FileMaker uses AES 256-bit encryption, so web transmissions remain secure and information is protected. A visual indicator shows when a connection to the server is secure and whether or not a third-party certificate has validated the encryption.

FileMaker 13 for servers costs $29 per month, billed annually, and includes WebDirect and unlimited copies of FileMaker Pro. Concurrent connections cost $25 for five licenses. FileMaker Go for iPads is free. More than 1 million people have downloaded the business productivity application. The FileMaker Training Series: Basics is free of charge and The FileMaker Training Series: Advanced is available at $19 for a PDF.

"The excitement and buzz around this release has been wonderful," Jacobson says. "People are excited about it."